Lentils and other parts of Parshat Toldot

 

LENTILS, LENTILS, LENTILS!

 

You and your team have 10 minutes to provide answers. To these questions.  Work as a team and appoint a person to speak for your team when team time is over.

 

1)     T Or F:  Canada farms more lentils than India.

2)    T Or F:  What makes the rice and lentil dish called  Mujadera extra tasty  are  mounds of deep fried onions.

3)    T Or F:  Palestinians make a lot of Mujadera, but replace the lentils with peas.

4)    T Or F:  Red lentils are only red when you cook them. Dry, they are orange.

5)    T Or F:  Yellow split peas are not the same as yellow lentils.

6)    T Or F:   Beluga lentils are named for sharing their colors with Beluga whales.

7)    T Or F:   French Lentils are the largest lentils- and the most expensive.

8)    T Or F:   Green lentils take the longest to cook. Red Lentils take the shortest time

9)    T Or F:   Lentil are eaten on every continent but South America.

10) T Or F:   Ethiopians use yellow lentil stew as baby food. 

Toldot, Part 1

Now these are the generations of Yitzhak, son of Avraham.
Avraham fathered Yitzhak.

Yitzhak was forty years old when he took Rivka daughter of Betuel the Aramean, from country of Aram, sister of Lavan the Aramean, for himself as a wife.

Yitzhak entreated Adonai on behalf of his wife, for she was barren,
and Adonai granted-his-entreaty:
Rivka his wife became pregnant.

But the children struggled with one another inside her,
so she said:
“Why is this? Why am I in this condition?”
And she went to inquire of Adonai.

Adonai said to her:
Two nations are in your belly,
two tribes from your body shall be divided;
tribe shall be mightier than tribe,
elder shall be servant to younger!

 

Her days were fulfilled for bearing, and then, she was carring twins within her!

The first one came out ruddy, like a hairy mantle all over,
so they called his name: Esav/Rough-One.

After that his brother came out, his hand grasping Esav’s heel,
so they called his name: Yaakov/Heel-Twister.
Now Yitzhak was sixty years old when she bore them.

The lads grew up:  Esav became a man knowing the hunt, a man of the open-field,
while Yaakov was a  man, staying among the tents.

Yitzhak grew to love Esav, for [he brought] hunted-game for his mouth,
but Rivka loved Yaakov.

 

[Once] Yaakov was stewing up [lentil] stew,
and Esav came in from the field, and he was weary.

Esav said to Yaakov:
“Pray give me a gulp of the red-stuff, that red-stuff,
for I am so weary!”
Therefore they gave him the name: Edom/Red-One.

Yaakov said:
“Sell me your firstborn-right here-and-now.”

Esav said:
“Here, I am on my way to dying, so what [good] to me now is a firstborn-right?”

Yaakov said:
“Swear to me here-and-now.”
He swore to him and sold his firstborn-right to Yaakov.

Yaakov gave Esav bread and lentil stwe;
he ate and drank and arose and went off.
Thus did Esav trash the firstborn-right.

 

JEWISH COMMENTATORS ON PLAYING FAVORITES IN TOLDOT:

Whose explanation do you like best? Or do you have one of your own?

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Rashi-  France, 11^th century,  often focusing on Midrash and Aggadic (legendary/non-legal)  parts of the Talmud.

בפיו   IN HIS MOUTH — Understand this as the Targum renders it: in Isaac’s mouth, that Isaac ate the venison he brought home. But its Midrashic explanation is: there was hunting in Esav’s mouth, meaning that he used to entrap and deceive his father by his words (Genesis Rabbah 63:10).

 

The Bechor Shor- Joseph ben Isaac  of Orléans 12^th century French Tosafist (commentators on Rashi’s work), exegete, and poet.

ורבקה אוהבת את יעקב. AND RIVKAH LOVED JACOB:  Jacob was a shepherd and busied himself with dwelling in the world, and women like men who raise little baby goats and little baby calves.

Nachmanides/Ramban- Spain, 13^th century.  Physician, mystic, often argues with everyone who came before him, especially Rashi and Ibn-Ezra.

BECAUSE THERE WAS VENISON IN HIS MOUTH.  It is possible to explain that Isaac loved Esav because there was always venison in the mouth of Isaac. All day he would desire to eat the venison, and it was always in his mouth. He would not eat anything else, and Esav was the one who brought it to him, as Scripture said, A cunning hunter.

 

Chizkuni—Hezekiah Ben Manoach, 13^th century French commentator who compiled his work from over twenty other commentators.

 

ויאהב יצחק את עשו, “Yitzchok loved Esav;” in connection with Esav the Torah uses the past tense, i.e. ויאהב, to show that Yitzchak did not love Esav all the time, but only at times when he provided him with venison. When describing Rivkah’s feelings for Yaakov, the Torah uses the present tense, אוהבת, as her feelings for him were constant.

 

Radak/Rabbi David Kimhi,  13th century medieval rabbi, biblical commentator, philosopher, and grammarian, from what is now Monaco.

ויאהב, AND HE LOVED--- there was no need to mention that Yitzchok loved Yaakov; clearly his love for Yaakov was constantly on the increase seeing that Yaakov was righteous. Esav’s claim to his father’s love was due only to the venison he brought his father from his hunting expeditions.

 

בפיו. IN HIS MOUTH- This meat was especially tasty.  

ורבקה אוהבת את יעקב,  AND RIVKAH LOVED YAAKOV—loved him exclusively; the reason was that Yaakov pursued a lifestyle that would lead to eternal life, whereas Esav did the opposite. Not only did he not lead a life leading to eternal life after death, but he actively forfeited even life on earth, exposing himself to needless dangers. Seeing that Yitzchok was aging and sitting at home most of the time, he was not aware of Esav’s doings and was easily led to believe that Esav led a virtuous life, basing his belief on the daily supply of venison his son provided for him. The story unfolds at a time when Yitzchok was already incapable of seeing well with his physical eyes. The story of the sale of the birthright is told primarily to illustrate the disdain with which Esav looked upon spiritual values as a valuable acquisition, something guaranteeing a person life beyond death.

 

Or HaChayim-  Rabbi Chayim Ben Moshe ibn Attar, Morocco, 16^th century, Talmudist and kabbalist, Rosh Yeshiva.  His Torah commentary is from the weekly lessons he taught his daughters (he had no sons).

ויאהב יצחק את עשו, And Isaac loved Esav. According to the Midrash Tanchuma Esav snared the love of his father by misrepresenting his true character such as enquiring about the correct manner of tithing salt. He did not bother to engage in such trickery except when dealing with his father. This was because he was not concerned about the performance of good deeds but only wanted to ensure his father would have no reason to curse him. He also hoped to obtain blessings. His mother could not dispense either, therefore he made no effort to camouflage his true self when in his mother's presence.   

 

According to Onkelos who renders the words כי ציד בפיו as ארי מצידה הוי אכיל, "that Isaac ate from the game Esav hunted," we must ask: why did this not also cause Rebeccah to love Esav, for surely they took most of their meals together or at least Esav did not discriminate against her and gave her meat? Perhaps the reason is found in the commentary of the Maharik on Even Ha-ezer 70-1:  Isaac was under an obligation to feed his wife an expensive meaty diet. When a wife comes from a family who is used to such a diet the husband must keep her in the style she was accustomed to. Bethuel was a wealthy and influential man in his town, and no doubt Rebeccah had been used to a high standard of living prior to her marriage. She would not therefore be particularly grateful for the venison, considering it merely as her due.

Samson Raphael Hirsch*, 19^th Century Germany.  Founder of “Torah and Worldly Wisdom” approach to modern life.  Father of what we think of as Modern Orthodoxy.  Concerned with the wider world and how Jews connected to it.  

(Translated from the German) A second factor that could only have a damaging effect was the divided feelings of parents regarding their children. Unity of parents in their upbringing and the same attitude and love for all their children - even for the less well-behaved ones, who, even more than the physically sick ones, are in most need of loving devotion - that is the first basic condition and the cornerstone of everyone’s education.

 

 The fact that Isaac's sympathies turned to Esav and Rebekah to Jacob can easily be explained by the attractiveness of the contrasts. We like to see Isaac, resurrected from the sacrificial death, removed from the noise of the world, preferring to live near a quiet street, at the well of the "living one who sees me", rather than near one moving with busy people. It would not be impossible that he liked Esav's strong, energetic nature and perhaps saw in him a strength to support the house in a way that he lacked.  Rebekah, on the other hand, saw an image of life blossoming in Jacob's entire being that she had never contemplated in her father's house.

 

The sympathies are understandable, but parents should not allow themselves to be guided and determined by such dark feelings in their relationship with their children.

 

*No relation, but we are big fans of S.R. in my family